Load Share Containers

A load share container can be used to represent items configured with load sharing redundancy.  Units in load sharing redundancy exhibit different failure characteristics when one or more fail. In Figure 1, blocks 1, 2 and 3 are in a load share container and have their own failure characteristics. All three must fail for the container to fail. However, as individual items fail, the failure characteristics of the remaining units change since they now have to carry a higher load to compensate for the failed ones. The failure characteristics of each block in a load share container are defined using both a life distribution and a life stress relationship that describes how the life distribution changes as the load changes. Figure 2 illustrates such a relationship.  Models for the blocks in load share containers can be build using ReliaSoft's ALTA software.

Figure 1: Configuration with Load Share Container

Figure 2: Pdf vs. Time vs. Stress Surface